What is it with the goofiness of Indiana crime lately, besides the common connection of alcohol? more ›

What is it with chain restaurants accidentally serving children alcohol recently? It hit real close to home Sunday when a 4-year-old eating with her mother at a South Side Chili's had to be treated for alcohol overdose when the milkshake she thought was drinking was actually a mudslide. more ›

Illinois is cracking down on underage drinking by going after the parents who play host to the parties. If legislation is passed, “Social hosting” will be a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine. It’s already a Class 4 felony if adults supply the alcohol and the minors are injured or killed . more ›

A "rave" in Wicker Park was shut down by Chicago police officers after an anonymous person texted the information through the Chicago Police Department's "TEXT2TIP" system around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. The rave was in full effect when the police showed up:

Shakespeare District officers who responded found partygoers going into a storefront -- an unlicensed venue -- and alcohol being served to 50 to 75 people, most of whom were not old enough to drink, according to the release. Some were holding alcoholic beverages and waiting to pay an entrance fee when police arrived, the release said.

To curb teen drinking, northwest suburban Park Ridge has started the Parent Party Patrol program, which teams parents up with police officers to be on call between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. in search of parties that could possibly involve underage alcohol consumption. Once a call comes over the police radio notifying them of a party in progress, the patrol members will head to the scene, observe police actions, and wait until they are potentially called on to explain procedures to parents or help officers notify parents of the underage drinkers. more ›

• The State House approved the proposed state tax holiday, passing it off to the State Senate.
• The Saga of Scott Lee Cohen now includes his underage son.
• Thanks a lot, Greece computer glitch.

A group of Whitney Young High School students has learned the hard way that there are limits to how much you can celebrate a sports title. 27 students were arrested at a Super 8 Hotel in Washington, Illinois around 2 a.m. Saturday morning just hours after the Whitney Young boys basketball team won their state semifinal game (the team eventually won the state 4A championship). Police said all those arrested were students at the school, yet Chicago Public School spokeswoman Monique Bond says that hasn't been confirmed as some of the arrested students have addresses outside Chicago. Said Bond in a statement: "Any allegations that Whitney Young students may have been involved in inappropriate behavior will need further investigation. Until we are able to confirm if CPS students were involved, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. The matter remains under internal review and the appropriate actions will be taken as needed." Initial reports claim none of the students arrested were associated with the basketball team. [CBN] more ›

From time to time, mistakes are made. Yes, even by us. A few weeks ago, we wrote a post about Lauralee Pfeifer and a lawsuit stemming from underage drinking in her house. While her homeowners insurance may still be on the hook for $2.5 million for damages, one thing she isn't is the stereotypical "Cool Mom" that original reports (including ours) made her out to be. Despite the underage drinking that went on in her house, lawyers state that Pfeifer didn't provide the booze, and she wasn't even aware that drinking was going on at the home. From the Trib:

Unlike other lawsuits alleging that adults played a role in teenage drinking parties, Pfeifer did not buy the alcohol for the teens or know they were drinking in her home. Pfeifer did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, said Michael Borders, her lawyer.

It's not just "Cool Moms" in Lake Forest that are facing the music these days. Elmhurst is getting in on the action now, too. A big New Year's Eve bash attended by many students from York High will result in punishment for 43 student athletes who attended the party. Principal Diana Smith said, "Students received consequences for being at the party that included suspension from participation for a portion of their season and 20 hours of community service." All of the students who attended the party were allegedly freshmen and sophomore and fully cooperated with school officials. more ›

We thought that July's rash of stories about the Amethyst Initiative and lowering the drinking age had come and gone, but last night CBS 2's Rob Johnson* brought back the age-old question: should we lower the drinking age to 18? And we were all set to spend about 300 words bashing CBS for not checking their fax machine in about 4 months, but lo and behold, across the nation there have been a wave of stories about Amethyst in the past couple weeks. Either people are really curious about the idea of 18-year-olds getting tanked, or Amethyst has a pretty solid PR person with a lot of illicit photos of news desk editors across the country. more ›

As Police Supt. Weis and G-Rod spar over bringing in the National Guard and State Police to quell the rise in violence, crime continues and makes us wonder if we'd be better off with the Man of the Moment. more ›